He made the demand at a meeting with Kobsak Pootrakool, a minister attached to Thai Prime Minister's Office, at the secretariat in Dhaka yesterday.

Currently, Thailand is providing duty-free access for 6,998 Bangladeshi items, according to a statement of the commerce ministry. However, garments that account for 81 percent of Bangladesh's total exports are not on the list of these products.

Ahmed also called upon Thai investors to invest in the pharmaceutical sector of Bangladesh.

If Thai investors put in money in the pharmaceutical industry they will be able to enjoy cash incentive while exporting products, he said.

Thailand has already invested $1.5 billion in Bangladesh.

Investors from Thailand will be allocated a special economic zone if they want to invest here, according to the statement.

In 2016-17, Bangladesh exported products worth $48.57 million to Thailand and imported products of $781.6 million from the country, according to the commerce ministry.

He showed the interest while speaking at the “Bangladesh-Thailand Business Dialogue” organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry at the latter's office.

The Thai minister stressed the need for a deep-sea port to import more goods from Bangladesh.

He emphasised establishing road connectivity between Thailand and Bangladesh. A high-powered Thai business delegation arrived in Dhaka on May 2, a trip that is being seen as a significant boost to the trade and economic ties between the two countries.